1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system for delivering live bait to a fisherman.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional bait buckets for live bait, such as minnows and shrimp, typically have a lid with a door on the top. The steps for retrieving a single piece of live bait can be more time consuming than an angler would like, especially when the fish are biting, or when the other anglers you are fishing with want you to be the bait retriever for the entire crew.
The following is representative of the process employed when using a conventional bait bucket:
1. Set your fishing pole down.
2. Locate and hold the dip net in one hand. (Note: When the fish are really biting and people are in a hurry to bait their hook and get back to fishing, quite often the dip net doesn't get placed in the same location and sometimes the dip net will accidently get dropped into the bait bucket. Placing your hand in the bait bucket to retrieve the dip net can potentially kill the bait if your skin is sweaty or has sunscreen or insect spray applied to it.)
3. Use your other hand to open the door on the bait bucket lid.
4. Insert the dip net into the bucket through the open door and begin chasing the live bait—while potentially injuring and/or stressing them out to a point that it will possibly kill some of the live bait before you get an opportunity to catch a fish with them.
5. Pull the dip net up from the bucket. (Quite often you will have successfully captured the aerator stone along with a few pieces of bait that are thrashing around in the dip net because they were just chased around the inside of the bucket getting hit with the dip net until they were eventually captured and pulled out of the water with a bubbling stone that is pulsing with air next to their head making them want to jump out of the net all the more.)
6. Pull one of the live bait out of the dip net and hold on to it while you use your other hand to dump the remaining bait left in the dip net back into the bucket.
7. Go back to where you set your fishing pole and pick it back up and grab the hook and bait up.
For many anglers, the total time typically takes about 40 to 60 seconds.
It is desirable to have a bait delivery system to retrieve bait from a bait bucket easily, quickly, conveniently and without injuring the live bait. It is also desirable to be able to retrieve bait from a bait delivery system using only one hand with as few steps as possible.